Alissa Azar

RE: @alissaazar@kolektiva.social

This is really, really bad, and sets some awful and dangerous precedents.

The government will continue its attempts at crushing and criminalizing dissent.

Solidarity in these times is crucial.

Be loud, be proud, and support antifascists.

Jurors have reached a verdict for 9 defendants regarding the Prairieland Detention Center noise demonstration in Texas. This case marks the first time the government has filed terrorism charges against “Antifa." Legal experts have been raising alarms over prosecutors’ theory — arguing defendants, including some who were not even at the demonstration, are part of an organized criminal “Antifa cell” and broader conspiracy. The first charges in the Prairieland case were filed weeks after the Trump administration designated antifa as a domestic terror group last September. The nine defendants faced a total of 65 outrageous charges that include attempted murder, aiding terrorists and weapons charges. The verdict: Count 1 - Riot Autumn Hill - guilty Zachary Evetts - guilty Benjamin Song - guilty Savanna Batten - guilty Meagan Morris - guilty Maricela Rueda - guilty Elizabeth Soto - guilty Ines Soto - guilty Count 2 - Providing material support to terrorists Autumn Hill - guilty Zachary Evetts - guilty Benjamin Song - guilty Savanna Batten - guilty Meagan Morris - guilty Maricela Rueda - guilty Elizabeth Soto - guilty  Ines Soto - guilty Court 3 - Explosive conspiracy (fireworks) Autumn Hill - guilty Zachary Evetts - guilty Benjamin Song - guilty Savanna Batten - guilty Meagan Morris - guilty Maricela Rueda - guilty Elizabeth Soto - guilty Ines Soto - guilty Count 4 - Use and carry explosives (fireworks) Autumn Hill - guilty Zachary Evetts - guilty Benjamin Song - guilty Savanna Batten - guilty Meagan Morris - guilty Maricela Rueda - guilty Elizabeth Soto - guilty Ines Soto - guilty Count 5 - Attempted murder of an officer Benjamin Song - not guilty Autumn Hill - not guilty Zachary Evetts - not guilty Meagan Morris - not guilty Maricela Rueda - not guilty Count 6 - Attempted murder of an officer Benjamin Song - not guilty Autumn Hill - not guilty Zachary Evetts - not guilty Meagan Morris - not guilty Maricela Rueda - not guilty Count 7 - Attempted murder of an officer Benjamin Song - guilty Autumn Hill - not guilty Zachary Evetts - not guilty Meagan Morris - not guilty Maricela Rueda - not guilty Count 8 - Discharging a firearm during a violent crime (three counts) Benjamin Song - guilty Autumn Hill - not guilty Zachary Evetts - not guilty Meagan Morris - not guilty Maricela Rueda - not guilty Count 9 - Discharging a firearm Benjamin Song - guilty Autumn Hill - not guilty Zachary Evetts - not guilty Meagan Morris - not guilty Maricela Rueda - not guilty Count 10 - Discharging a firearm Benjamin Song - guilty Autumn Hill - not guilty Zachary Evetts - not guilty Meagan Morris - not guilty Maricela Rueda - not guilty Count 11 - Corruptly concealing a document Daniel Rolando Sanchez‑Estrada - guilty Count 12 - Conspiracy to conceal documents Daniel Rolando Sanchez‑Estrada - guilty Maricela Rueda - guilty We Will Free Us has two articles up about the trial and will be publishing an update soon, including information on how to support the defendants and their families during these grossly unjust times. https://www.wewillfreeus.org/prairieland-19-case-update/

Understanding the complexities of a distant culture and its social dynamics can be challenging for people, especially regions you have no connection to, and especially for people in the west. If you find it difficult to comprehend how people in another country might oppose certain groups, experience oppression, and yet still celebrate specific actions, it might be wise to hold back your opinions. The world is not just black and white.

“This isn’t supposed to be happening here”

This refrain of disbelief has been echoing relentlessly in my mind

What better phrase to encapsulate the fragile safety net of those living in the heart of empire

For many nestled in the imperial core, war is a distant specter, a mere concept

The haunting drone of surveillance doesn't echo in our ears, its absence a silence we barely notice

Our windows remain unshaken as missiles rain down on neighbors, lives shattered beyond recognition

The blood spilled in distant lands never stains this soil

This world remains untouched, wrapped in the illusion of safety

“This isn’t supposed to be happening here”
because it’s supposed to be happening *there*

The people dehumanized and abandoned

Where bombs drop and we stand unmoved

Where genocide is reduced to a headline

“Hundreds of murdered children” becomes a hollow statistic

Rubble and destruction are mere photos on Instagram, easily ignored and effortlessly swiped away

And here I sit, untouched, as the world burns

Israel issued evacuation orders for ALL of southern Lebanon. They continue to forcefully displace large amounts of people, destroying the land, and carry on endless murders.

Israel never even stopped bombing Jnoub/ southern Lebanon since the supposed
"ceasefire" and now they are attempting to destroy as much of the country as they can.

Meanwhile the da3esh forces that many
"leftists" in the west cheered on despite what many Syrians and SWANA minorities were saying and explaining are supporting Israel against Lebanon.

الإمبراطوريات لا تحرر يستبدلون قفص واحد بآخر Empires do not liberate. They replace one cage with that of another

The USA and Israel have murdered dozens of children while striking a girls’ elementary school in Iran. Reports from State media range from 50-80 murdered children, in addition to dozens of other injuries and children who remain unaccounted for.

But yes, "they are targeting only military targets and punishing the regime, not the people of Iran."

New - A Portland activist delivered a petition with 19,000+ signatures demanding the city revoke the ICE permit. The city had her arrested. Days later, a councilor proposed allowing council members to openly carry firearms while conducting city business in response.

https://www.wewillfreeus.org/she-brought-19-000-signatures-they-brought-police-how-portland-is-handling-ice-opposition/

New - A breakdown of how the Prairieland 19 federal trial collapsed on day one over courtroom decorum, and what it reveals about how protest cases are handled in federal courts. It previews what’s ahead in the prosecution, why the case matters beyond court, and what to watch as the trial continues.

This case is the first time the government has ever filed terrorism charges against “antifa” and has raised the alarm among legal experts because of the logic prosecutors are using to argue that the defendants, including several who were not even at the noise demonstration, are a part of an organized criminal “antifa cell” and broader criminal conspiracy.

https://www.wewillfreeus.org/prairieland-19-case-update/

#Prairieland19 #texas #antifascist

New - A new website exposes Oregon businesses who have official government contracts with ICE and CBP.

Melt Oregon is aiming to map the financial ecosystem behind federal immigration enforcement by identifying businesses that hold official government contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The project relies heavily on public contract data pulled from USAspending.gov, a federal database that tracks how taxpayer money is distributed through government contracts, grants, and loans. The site allows the public to search spending data by agency, location, and contractor, offering a window into how federal enforcement programs are funded and who profits from them. 

https://www.wewillfreeus.org/new-site-tracks-oregon-corporate-ties-to-federal-immigration-enforcement/

Following the temporary restraining order issued against federal agents’ use of teargas and other “less lethals” for 14 days, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield has submitted arguments and evidence in support of a lawsuit brought forth by ACLU of Oregon on behalf of protesters and journalists that challenges violations of the First Amendment and the use of excessive force by federal agents outside the Portland ICE building.

The evidence shows that federal agents tear gassed protesters, including children, elderly folks, disabled people, and pets, repeatedly during the weekend of January 31.

They are urging the court to issue a preliminary injunction against federal agents' “unlawful use of tear gas, pepper balls, and other crowd-control munitions.”

The district court will hold a three-day hearing on the preliminary injunction motion, which will begin on March 2.

Thread from the weekend in question here:
@alissaazar@kolektiva.social

And here: @alissaazar@kolektiva.social

#Portland #pdx #chemicalweapons #teargas

will never understand what we did to deserve cats tbh

Living My Life by Emma Goldman - this edition is from 1931

New- As student walkouts against ICE spread nationwide, tensions are rising between young protesters and school administrators. In Portland, one family says a counselor crossed a constitutional line when she confiscated their daughter’s protest sign off campus.

https://www.wewillfreeus.org/students-walk-out-against-ice-counselor-seizes-students-sign-off-campus/

#Portland #pdx

New- article from this past weekend is out now where a rally organized by a coalition of labor unions and community members turned violent when federal agents unleashed tear gas, rubber bullets, and other munitions on Portlanders, including young children, highlighting the deepening militarization of law enforcement and the community’s unwavering resistance.

I spoke with multiple people who were on the ground, including a street medic who said “I’ve been working in this field for over 8 years now and I’ve seen a lot of shit, but that was truly one of the most terrible things I’ve witnessed and I never thought that I’d have to see actual children getting gassed like that, but here we are I suppose.”

“This couple with a stroller emerged from the cloud with their maybe 2 or 3 year old daughter sitting barely conscious in that stroller. The parents were coughing and could barely walk, couldn’t see anything, this poor little girl was covered in her own vomit and sputum and mucus was pouring from her nose. She was just sitting there barely conscious, wheezing heavily, barely breathing through the wheezing…”

The medic told me that they had treated at least four children that day, adding "I’m never ever going to forget the sounds of those kids wailing in pain hacking up a lung in full panic mode. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my 8+ years of street medicine and EMS work."

https://www.wewillfreeus.org/portlands-labor-against-ice-march-faces-brutal-federal-response/

#Portland #pdx #chemicalweapons #teargas

TRO against federal agents use of force has been GRANTED!

There was a hearing today where a judge ruled in favor of and granted a temporary restraining order against the feds in Portland, OR using chemical weapons and excessive force after multiple lawsuits were filed after this weekend, including from a march of over 5,000 people on Saturday where young children got teargassed, and Sunday night where over 500 people protested at the ICE facility and without warning the feds gassed a large portion of the city.

The TRO blocks federal officers from using “chemical or projectile munitions,” including pepper balls, tear gas and other crowd control munitions “unless the specific target of such a weapon or device poses an imminent threat of physical harm to a law enforcement officer or other person.”

“In a well-functioning constitutional democratic republic, free speech, courageous newsgathering, and nonviolent protest are all permitted, respected, and even celebrated. In an authoritarian regime, that is not the case,” U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon wrote in a 22-page temporary restraining order, which you can read here: https://www.opb.org/pdf/Dickinson%20v_1770160054941.pdf

The ruling also blocks federal officers from firing munitions or using weapons directed “at the head, neck, or torso of any person, unless the officer is legally justified in using deadly force against that person.”

“The temporary restraining order goes into effect for 14 days and could be renewed. Simon has scheduled a hearing on the underlying lawsuit for March 2, where he’ll take testimony from witnesses. That evidence could form a basis for an injunction should the judge deem it necessary.”
- https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/03/judge-limits-federal-officer-use-of-force-portland-ice-protesters/

#Portland #pdx #chemicalweapons

A few hundred people have just arrived to the Portland ICE facility, marching in remembrance of all killed at the hands of ICE